doppler or fetascope?

[rainbowmoon]

I had fully planned to rent a doppler this week to listen to my baby's hb. now for some reasons I'm thinking I may just wait until 20 weeks and get a fetascope instead. are they hard to learn how to use though? when were you able to pick up a HB?

what about listening to fht's in labor? did anyone do it w/ a fetascope?

what's the best quality/cheapest fetascope?

[MistyD]

The doppler just did not feel right to me during Kai's pregnancy so we only used a fetoscope. http://www.allheart.com/om13fetal.html That is the one I have. We could all hear it clearly from about 19/20 weeks. My husband loved to count the heartbeats. Also, I started feeling him at 13 weeks so it was easy to know he was still in there. I love the fetoscope, it's so simple and so cool! Oh, and it was not hard to use, just remember to keep the tube taut, if it was floppy we couldn't hear.

I did use a doppler during labor though. I had wanted to use the fetoscope but was open to a few doppler checks. Once I was actually in labor though there was no way that I could lay down to use the fetoscope, and it only worked when I laid down. Anyway, I just looked at my birth record and it said the doppler was used 7 times over four hours but I barely remember that.

If you are planning to check the heartbeat during labor then you might want to consider renting it for that.

[Thmom]

I feel that ultrasonic sound waves are hazardous, or at least pose a possible hazard that is (IMO) an unnecessary risk...
I've used a fetscope for all 3 UC's, and it seems I've used it less with each one. *I* had a problem using mine but it is likely because my ear canals are shaped funny, dh never had a problem, my best friend never had a problem, just me lol.
I've never used it in labor... the monitoring of FHT's really doesn't tell you much, you'll get much better info. by just listening to your body and trusting in your intuition. Also, I think you run the risk of instilling unnecessary fear with listening while in labor (this is just my opinion of course) but babies move during labor and towards transition and after the baby is really low and it's hard to pick up tones, I would be concerned that if you couldn't find the heart beat you'll start to panic.

[mehndi mama]

I could never pick up a heartbeat with my fetoscope. Not sure why - maybe I'm just too impatient. But we didn't do the doppler, either - I relied on baby movement to tell me that things were going okay. Not sure if that would work to reassure you if your baby is a calm one....but I've never had a calm baby ever! :LOL

[cottonwood]

I have major concerns about the safety of the doppler, so for my last two pregnancies we used only a fetoscope. By the way, I didn't start to feel movement until quite late in my last pregnancy -- around 20 weeks -- so I couldn't rely on that to tell me the baby was okay. I just figured, what will be will be, and if the pregnancy turns out not to be viable, I can't do anything about it anyway, so why worry about it? I also liked the idea of allowing my connection to the baby to happen naturally, on nature's timetable.

ETA: I forgot to answer your other question. I did have a fetoscope and used it mainly to help determine position, because although I know that breech is a normal variation, I still have some fear surrounding it. If I knew the baby was vertex I wouldn't have to work through that fear. Kind of a laziness on my part I guess. I never had a problem hearing the heartbeat, although sometimes it was faint due to baby's position. Also, sometimes the baby can "hide" behind the placenta, but mine was conveniently to the side rather than in front.

We didn't check FHTs in labor. I felt very certain that all was right -- mostly intuition (which can be very powerful if the mother is in a situation where can access and pay attention to it,) but also I had some idea of what normal labor should look like for me, under ideal conditions.

[mwherbs]

If you have a stethoscope try it first and see if you can hear- your own heart beat your child's heart beat and DH's , a fetalscope is similar in sound quality. Some people can hear a fetus with a stethoscope so try it first. If you can't hear then try a Leff it has a large head and long ear tubes- the head is about the size of a measuring cup around and heavy and because of the weight it dampens the outside sounds- good palpation is essential to hearing with a fetalscope because most of the time you have to be over the baby's chest (front or back) in order to hear the heart beat. sometimes you can hear the cord or the placenta as well, be sure to differentiate between your heartbeat and the baby's, you can take your own pulse just before so you know what your rate is.

[rainbowmoon]

thanks everyone for all the good info! I think I am going to wait until 20 weeks to hear the h/b w/ a fetascope! I do have a stethascope so I will try that first mwherbs.